Take Two
by MoSBanapple
Summary: Just like any other place, the Earth Kingdom has its fair share of outlaws, bandits, and other lowlifes. Rin is just one of the many thieves roaming the kingdom, on a journey without a destination. Normally, the story of a common thief wouldn't be worth telling... but what happens when she meets the Gaang?
1. Chapter 1: The Great Divide

**A/N: Welcome to my first fanfiction! This used to be the second chapter, but the original first chapter was fail.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Great Divide

"See you on the other side, buddy. Yip Yip!"

The bald monk jumped down to the ground as Appa let out a moan, taking off and flying towards the other side of the giant canyon with his passengers.

As Sokka watched the bison fade into the distance, he turned to Aang and asked, "Why couldn't we have gone on Appa? There was enough room for all of us."

"The Gan Jins and the Zhangs won't stop fighting down in the canyon. As the Avatar, I feel like I need to help them settle their conflict."

"Is there any way you could settle their conflict without having us walk through this entire canyon?"

Before Aang could give a response, the Canyon guide's voice rang out to everyone, interrupting their conversation.

"Time's up! Hope you're feeling full, cause we're going down the canyon now!" The guide threw a large boulder to the side, showing a winding path down the canyon, and started walking down. Aang and the water tribe siblings followed him, with the two tribes further behind. There was a noticeable gap between the Gan Jins and the Zhangs. After a few minutes, a brief explanation of the origin of the canyon, and a few displays of earthbending, they reached the canyon floor. The two tribes congregated in the clearing as the guide walked over to a large boulder on the canyon floor.

"Okay, everyone steer clear of the wall," he said as he started twisting around, preparing to launch the boulder at a weak point of the path on the cliff wall. Just before he sent the boulder sailing, a shout came from above.

"Wait! Stop!"

Hearing the cry, the Canyon guide managed to stop his movements, sending the boulder halfway up before it crashed harmlessly into the ground. Both he and the Gaang looked up, seeing a small figure running down the cliff path, crossing the bridge that the boulder would have destroyed. When the figure got to a safe distance away from the intended target, the Canyon guide let another boulder loose, destroying part of the pathway. A shower of rocks and dust tumbled down behind the guide.

"Why did you do that?" Aang asked in surprise.

"These people are fleeing from the Fire Nation, aren't they? Gotta make sure we can't be followed. Whoever that was, they should be glad I noticed them in time. Anyways, we're safe now, so don't worry," the guide said, right before a dark figure in the dust cloud snatched him up by the back of his shirt. Aang was startled for a moment, then whipped up a gust of wind to blow away the dust cloud, revealing a giant insect-like creature holding the Canyon guide in its mouth.

"We've got to help him!" Sokka shouted as he threw his boomerang at the monster. He hit the creature directly in the head, causing the creature to drop the guide and turn its attention to Sokka. Realizing that he was weaponless and the target of this creature, he broke into a run, trying to put as much distance between himself and his pursuer.

"Okay, now we gotta help me!" As Sokka ran, Katara drew water out of her waterskin, forming a whip and striking the creature in the face. The creature was only deterred for a moment as it snapped at Katara, making her dive to the side as Aang came in to blast the creature away. Once it gained its footing, Aang formed a cyclone, sucking up the creature and flinging it into the cliff face. As the dust settled, the creature crawled into one of the cracks in the wall, ending the threat to the group.

"What... was that?" Aang asked, turning to the Canyon guide who was down on the ground with Katara checking on his wounds.

"Canyon crawlers... and there's sure to be more," the guide rasped.

"Your arms! They're broken!" said Katara. A look of panic suddenly came over the Canyon guide.

"Without my arms, I've got no bending. In other words-" The guide was cut off by a cough from deep in his throat, but Aang finished the sentence for him.

"We're trapped in this canyon."

* * *

As Rin made it down to the canyon floor, she saw the two tribes separate and go down different forks in the road. The tribe on the left seemed to be savage and primitive, judging by their fur pelts and unkempt look. On the other hand, the tribe that had taken the right fork was adorned in brightly colored robes and had a regal look to them, as if they had come from nobility.

_Seems like an easy choice,_ Rin thought as she started heading to the right. As Rin neared the fork in the path, she noticed a few teenagers lagging behind, talking among themselves. Upon closer inspection, she saw what looked like a boy and girl from the water tribe, along with a bald child with odd robes and a staff. After nodding towards the robed child, the two water tribe teenagers split off down different paths: the boy went down the left with the more savage tribe, while the girl followed the more noble group to the right. As Rin approached the fork in the path, the third boy walked up to greet her.

"Hey, you're the one from earlier who was on the cliff, right? Are you a refugee too?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." Rin was lying through her teeth, but no one would know it. She looked just like a refugee, with an old, ragged cloak and a large sack of her personal belongings on her back. The only difference between her and the tribes up ahead was the intent of her journey.

"Then come with us! We're crossing the canyon!" With that, the bald child raised his staff, which extended into a glider. Rin watched in confusion as he flew off to catch up with the two tribes.

_Errrrrrr... was that an airbender?_ From what Rin had heard, airbenders were supposed to be extinct. Then again, it was hard to believe that an entire culture could go extinct... right? She decided not to ponder on the subject any longer and headed down the right path, following the seemingly richer group and the water tribe girl. As the sun fell over the horizon, Rin saw the group spread out into a clearing, setting up tents and rain tarps. Instead of following them, Rin started climbing up one of the many rock formations in the canyon that overlooked the clearing below. She noticed the airbender boy flying around, surveying the groups from above. After a few slips and scrapes, Rin finally made it to the top of the rock and onto a small ledge.

_Seems like a good place to stay for the night_, she thought as she lightly tossed her bag on the ground. Rin lay down on the ground, pulling a piece of bread out of her sack and taking a bite. It would take a while before the tribe down below would go to sleep, so she had time to spare until then. She lay down and quietly waited.

* * *

Once the sky grew completely dark, Rin looked over the edge to check on the tribe down below, only to be disappointed by the sight of the tribe gathered around a campfire. She settled back down on the ground, wrapping her cloak around herself like a blanket as the temperature dropped. Just then, she heard a voice come through the darkness.

"Sure would be nice to be around one of those campfires..."

Rin immediately sat up and spun towards the voice, relaxing when she saw the robes of the airbending child. The boy was sitting on the edge of the rock, looking out towards the campfires of the two tribes.

"Hey, you startled me a bit."

The airbender turned upon hearing Rin's voice, and a look of recognition came over his face.

"Oh, it's you! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were up here. I don't think I told you my name back then. I'm Aang!" He grinned and extended a hand, which Rin made no move towards.

"I'm Rin." She sat down on the ledge a few feet from Aang, her feet dangling over the side. The tribes down below had started to pack up, putting out their campfires and retreating into their tents.

"Why aren't you down there with the others, Rin? You must be lonely up here."

"I prefer to stay by myself. Now if you excuse me, I'd like some privacy." Aang nodded and flew off, glancing back before gliding off into the darkness. Now that she was alone, Rin could start preparing for tonight's venture.

_Let's see how rich these "refugees" are..._

* * *

Katara was roused awake by a thump outside her tent. It was still nighttime, as Katara couldn't see a thing. As she tried to fall asleep once again, she heard the flap of her tent opening. Katara turned still as stone as she tried to figure out who was in her tent without letting them notice. Once she heard the intruder rummaging through her belongings in the corner, Katara knew that she had to act.

"Who in spirit's name are you?" asked Katara, sitting up and startling the person, who bolted away through the tent flap. Katara got up and followed, catching a glimpse of the fleeing figure in the moonlight. There wasn't much to distinguish, as a cloak draped around the figure's body prevented most of their features from being identified, but Katara could tell that it was someone of roughly her height. She tried to give chase, but the person had already fled into the shadows of the canyon. Katara noticed a gleaming object on the ground and picked it up, identifying it as a small metal clip which the intruder probably dropped in his or her escape. With that, Katara went back to her tent, leaving the clip next to her sleeping bag and going to sleep.

As Katara got up the next morning, she heard a commotion outside. It seemed like a bunch of tribesmen were arguing angrily about something. When Katara exited her tent, she saw the Gan Jins gathered in the middle of the campground.

"Someone stole my purse last night!"

"My hairpiece is gone!"

Upon hearing the latter complaint, Katara went back into her tent to check on what she had picked up last night. With light to see, she realized that the clip she had found was an intricate golden hairpiece, similar to the ones she saw the Gan Jins wearing the previous day. She brought it out and presented it to the man who had complained about the missing hairpiece.

"Is this what you were looking for?" She asked. The man looked at it and, after a second of inspection, took it.

"Why, yes it is," he said, securing the clip on his hair. 'And how in spirits name did you come to possess it?"

"Someone tried to come into my tent last night. I chased them off and they dropped this, though I didn't get to see who it was."

"It must have been one of those nasty Zhangs! Always taking what doesn't belong to them!" The man's accusations roused a small commotion of agreement among the Gan Jins before quickly dying down. Katara would have agreed, but for some reason, she had a feeling in her gut that it was someone else. She went to go pack up her tent and meet with the Gan Jins so that they could head to the other side of the canyon.

* * *

It took a long time to get to the other side of the canyon, as Rin had to trail behind the tribe in fear of being spotted. The water tribe girl had seen her last night, and probably told the tribe about what she looked like. They would probably be able to identify her if she revealed herself. When they finally reached the sheer cliff face, Rin hid out of sight, watching the confrontation of the two tribes from afar. It seemed like a duel was unfolding, up until Aang blew away the two combatants, revealing hidden stockpiles of food from both tribes.

"Is that food? You all put our lives in danger just because you couldn't go a day without a bite to eat? You're all awful!" Rin heard the boy shout. She scoffed at what he was saying.

_You know, we're probably as tasty to the giant bugs as the food we bring down._ Just then, Rin noticed the crawlers coming out of their holes in the cliff face, surrounding the group. She tried to get to a safe distance away, but found her escape cut off by a canyon crawler herself. With no other choice, Rin fled from her hiding spot, landing into the chaotic fight between the tribes and the beasts.

"Everyone! Do what I do!" Aang shouted, jumping onto a charging crawler and wrapping a food sack around its snout. The tribes followed his example, working together to capture the crawlers. Meanwhile, Rin was doing his best to fight off one of the crawlers by herself, taking a small one-handed hatchet out of her bag and swinging it at the creature while avoiding its deadly jaws.

"Everybody, follow me!" Aang, now riding one of the crawlers, waved a food sack from the end of his staff. The rest of the crawlers, along with the people riding them, followed Aang up the cliff. Rin stood in awe for a second before snapping back to reality.

_If they can do that, I should be able to do that too, right?_ Rin jumped onto a riderless crawler, using a long length of rope to secure the large maw of the beast. With its attention directed towards the large sack of food Aang was holding, Rin had no trouble handling the canyon crawler, though she strained to hold on as she made the vertical ascent

"Come on, you stupid bug..." she muttered under her breath. After a few minutes, Rin finally reached the top of the cliff. She was just in time too, as when she jumped off and unraveled her rope from the beast's snout, Aang threw all the food back into the canyon, leading the crawlers back down into their homes. The ride up had exhausted Rin, so she threw down her stuff and fell to the ground, catching her breath. Her arms felt like they were on fire after holding on for so long. Looking to the side, she saw Aang, along with what seemed to be a giant bison and the two water tribe kids.

"Hey look, it's Rin!" Aang called out as Rin started to stand up. "Katara, Sokka, come over here. This is Rin, I met her last night."

"Wait a minute, Aang. She looks familiar," said Katara, squinting at her. Just then, the purse she had stolen the previous night chose the absolute worst moment to fall out of her cloak.

_****, it must have jostled loose during the ride up,_ Rin thought as Katara saw the purse.

"You were the thief from last night! You tried to take my stuff!" Katara approached Rin, drawing water from her waterskin. In response, Rin drew a knife from her belt and flung it at Katara and started to run, trying to get away from the waterbender. However, Aang sent out a blast of air at the knife, throwing it over the edge of the cliff and blowing Rin away. She tumbled across the ground for a moment, then the earth just disappeared from underneath her. Rin realized that the airbender's attack had sent her over the edge of the cliff, and she was falling to her most certain death.

_Oh spirits, help me,_ Rin prayed as she flew through the air. She reached out, trying to grab anything, but there were no branches or rocks to grab on the canyon wall. Suddenly, without warning, Rin came to a sudden halt, followed by a sudden, intense pain that coursed through her head and body. She blacked out almost instantly.

* * *

_Oh god, is she okay?_ Aang thought as he immediately unfolded his glider, flying over the edge of the cliff to see what had happened. He flew down the canyon wall and saw the body of the girl sprawled against the canyon floor.

"Get Appa down here, quickly!" Aang called to Katara and Sokka, who immediately took the bison and flew him down the the bottom of the canyon. Aang gingerly picked Rin's body from the ground and carried it onto Appa.

"Are you sure we should be caring for her?" asked Sokka. "She attacked Katara, after all."

"We can't just leave her there. Even if she wakes up, she won't have a way to get out of the canyon." Once they reached the top of the cliff again, Aang landed and picked up Rin's belongings, throwing them onto Appa's saddle.

"Katara, how's she doing? Is she okay?" Aang asked as Katara looked over her injuries.

"Nothing major, but her body is bruised in a lot of places, and her head is bleeding a lot. She's really lucky to have kept the rest of her body relatively intact, but she's still going to need a bit of care." Katara didn't really want to watch over the girl who tried to rob her the night before, but after being hurt so badly, the girl needed help, and there was no one around to help but their little band of teenagers. With a sigh, Katara started bandaging the girl's head, preventing it from bleeding any further.

"I don't think she's so lucky if she got blasted off of a cliff," Sokka commented. "I don't think she'll be moving much anytime soon."

"Then I guess we should take care of her for now. Appa, yip yip!" Aang commanded as they headed off into the sunset, with a new passenger along for the ride.

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**A/N: Well, that took a long time to get out. Thank you for reading, and a review would make my day.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Storm

**A/N: If you didn't notice, or you just hit the "latest chapter" button, I changed the first chapter (and about a sentence of the second chapter, just for continuity change). Go read it. It's completely new.**

**Edit 3/26: Disregard the A/N, the first chapter is completely gone.**

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Chapter 2: The Storm

_Everything hurts._

That was Rin's first thought as she slowly woke up, even before she had opened her eyes. Every part of her body ached, and it felt like a saber-tooth moose lion was pounding her skull in. As she grew more aware of her surroundings, she realized that she was covered by some sort of blanket. Rin forced her eyes open to see a tarp covering her body. Looking further, she saw that she was in some sort of large saddle. Suddenly, her memories of the fall rushed back to her.

_So that's why it hurts so much... at least I survived._ _But where am I?_ As Rin looked around, trying to find an answer, a voice came from behind her.

"Hey, you're awake!" said Aang. Rin turned around, seeing the boy sitting on top of the bison's head.

"What happened? What am I doing on your bison?" asked Rin.

"Well, after you fell, you got hurt pretty bad. You took a hit to the head, and the rest of your body got scraped up pretty badly. We brought you onto Appa, and Katara did the best she could to patch you up. Speaking of Katara, here she comes right now!" As Rin followed Aang's gaze, she saw the water tribe girl climbing up the bison's tail, carrying an empty sack.

"We should fly to the market today. We're out of - oh, you're awake," said Katara, upon noticing Rin struggle to sit up.

"So, how long have I been out?" asked Rin, glancing up at Katara.

"Only a night. We'll probably drop you off at the market today, since you can obviously take care of yourself by stealing from others." It was obvious to Rin that Katara didn't like the thief, most likely due to their first meeting in the canyon.

"You know we can't do that, Katara," Aang commented from Appa's head. "Rin's still beat up pretty bad. You were the one that said that it would take a few days before she would be in shape to do anything, remember?"

"I know, but we can't trust her. She's going to steal all of our stuff and run when we aren't looking."

"Hey, she wouldn't do anything like that. Right, Rin?" Aang looked expectantly at Rin, waiting for an answer.

"Uh... no?" Rin said, thinking that an honest answer would get her kicked off of the bison.

"I'm still skeptical about bringing her around with us," said Katara, sitting down on the opposite side of the saddle. Rin noticed the water tribe boy, the one Aang had called "Sokka" back at the cliff, carrying the group's supplies up the bison's tail and into the saddle.

"Oh, the girl's awake. So what were you all talking about?" asked Sokka, throwing the sleeping bags and tent down onto the saddle and sitting down near Katara.

"I don't think Rin is good for our safety. She's going to steal something, I know it," answered Katara.

"Don't be too hard on the girl. It's not like we have anything she would want. We're out of everything," said Sokka, grabbing the empty food sack and shaking it to demonstrate the point. Rin remembered that she still had a few pieces of bread left over in her bag.

"Hey, I have a bit of food if any of you want some. It's not much, but it'll last you until the market," she said, opening the sack and taking out four pieces of bread. Aang and Sokka reached over and took a piece for themselves while Katara sat still at the end of the saddle.

"Go on, take one," urged Rin, extending her hand towards Katara.

"It's probably poisoned or something," Katara muttered.

"Hey, I'm a thief, not a killer. At least, not yet. The bread's fine, see?" Rin took a bite out of her own piece of bread to demonstrate. Reluctantly, Katara took the bread from Rin's fingers and started eating.

"I still don't trust you, but thanks," mumbled Katara, looking away towards their campsite. The four teenagers sat there, munching on their morning snacks in silence.

"So... you're the Avatar?" asked Rin, turning towards Aang.

"Yup! How'd you guess?"

"Well, you're the only airbender around, and I heard that the Avatar had come back as an airbender. Put two and two together, and you're the Avatar." Rin took the tarp that was covering her legs and threw it off, placing it with the other supplies in the saddle.

"So, are we going to the market or what?" asked Sokka. In response, Aang jumped up into position, grabbing onto Appa's reigns.

"On it. Appa, yip yip!"

With a groan, Appa flew into the sky, heading towards the nearby port.

* * *

Once the harbor came into sight, Aang signalled Appa to go down, landing the bison in the water next to the dock.

"We're going to go down to the market to see if we can get some food. You should probably stay put, Rin," said Aang, as he and the two water tribe siblings jumped down onto the dock.

"I'm fine, what are you saying?" Rin tried to get up to prove her point, but as soon as she stood up, a splitting headache forced her back down into the saddle.

"I think you need to be able to stand up to be fine," Sokka called from the dock. Rin gave out a groan of frustration and lay back down, resting her head.

"Are you sure we should leave her with all of our stuff? We hardly know her, and she might take our stuff and run," said Katara to Aang and Sokka.

"Katara, I think you should stop being so paranoid. Everything will be fine," said Aang.

"Yeah, and I think you need to stand up to be able to run. We only need to worry once she get's better," said Sokka. The three headed off into the market, leaving Rin alone, lying on top of the bison. Once Rin saw them leave, she crawled over to the corner of the saddle where the group's supplies were.

_They've got to have left something good in here,_ she thought as she rummaged through their supplies. However, true to Sokka's statement back at the campsite, there was nothing that she could steal and hide. The only thing there was a tarp and a few sleeping bags.

_You'd think that the Avatar and his friends would have at least something good... _Rin thought asshe put the supplies back in place. Just as she put everything back the way it was, she saw the group coming back from the market, empty handed.

"What happened?" Rin called out to them. "I thought you were going to buy some food!"

"We realized that we were out of money," Sokka shouted back. Rin rolled her eyes, astounded that they would bother going to the market without any money.

"Well, I'm out of food, so I'm not giving you any more!" Rin shouted. She didn't know whether that was true, but she wasn't going to waste any more food on them. She planned on leaving once her injuries healed, and she wanted as much supplies as she could get before she left. Hopefully, the Avatar's little group would get a bit of supplies that Rin could steal or mooch off of.

"Well, we're out of food and out of money. Now what?" Katara asked, just as an old couple passed by behind him, arguing about the weather.

"Don't go out there!" shouted the old lady. "There's going to be a giant storm today! My joints tell me so!"

"Relax, it's nice and clear. The fish aren't going to catch themselves, woman," said the old man, pointing out towards the clear skies over the sea.

"Well, you've got to find someone else to help you catch them, because I'm not going out there!"

"Fine! I'll find someone else to haul that fish, and I'll pay them double!" Upon hearing this, Sokka's face lit up.

"I'll go," he called, approaching the old man.

"You're hired," the old man said instantly. As he retreated to his fishing boat, Katara came up to Sokka, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you should go out there? The old lady said that there was going to be a large storm. I think we should take shelter somewhere."

"Are you kidding? Shelter from what?" asked Sokka, gesturing towards the sky. "Besides, you said we needed money, and he's paying double."

"Double?" the old man shouted, turning around. "Who told you that nonsense?"

* * *

"Sokka, I don't think this is such a good idea. Look at the sky," Aang said, looking at the storm clouds pulling in.

"I said I was going to do this job, Aang. I can't back out just because of some bad weather," Sokka said as he brought a crate below deck.

"I hate to break it to you, but you're airbending friend is right," Rin shouted from Appa's saddle. "That sense of honor is going to get you killed in the storm."

"Airbending friend..." the old man mumbled, turning towards Aang. "Well, I'll be a hog-monkey's uncle. You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"

"That's right!" Aang said gleefully, putting on a large grin.

"Well, don't be so smug about it!" shouted the old man, wiping the smile off of Aang's face. "The Avatar vanished for a hundred years! You turned your back on the world, kid!"

"Stop yelling at him!" Katara said, cutting in front of Aang. "He would never turn his back on anyone!"

"Oh, would he? Then I must have imagined the past hundred years of pain and suffering!"

"Aang is the bravest person I know! He's done nothing but save and help people since I've met him! It's not his fault that he disappeared... right, Aang?"

As Katara turned around, she saw Aang backing off and flying away on his glider, heading out towards the mountains.

"Aang!" Katara cried out, trying to chase after him.

"That's right! Run away, like you ran away a hundred years ago!" shouted the old man, waving his fist in the air.

"You're a horrible old man," Katara shouted, walking past him and climbing onto Appa's head, grabbing onto the reins.

"Appa, yip yip!"

Rin held onto the side of the saddle, trying to keep herself on the bison as it flew into the air. Once Appa stabilized and started heading towards the mountain, she crawled over to the front of the saddle, behind Katara.

"You know, the fisherman was kind of right. If the Avatar hadn't disappeared for a hundred years, things would be a lot different."

"Shut up! Aang wouldn't do something like that deliberately, he's the kindest soul I know!"

"I wouldn't know; he blew me off of a cliff."

Katara gave a nasty look towards Rin, then turned around, cutting off any further conversation. Once they reached the mountain, Katara directed Appa around the cliffs, looking for Aang. The clouds had come in, and rain was starting to pour down.

"Hey, water girl, I know you're used to rain, but could you bring us down under some shelter so I don't freeze?"

"Be quiet. If you want to get dry, help me find Aang."

Rin poked her head over the side of the saddle and started scanning the mountain, looking for any sign of Aang. After a few minutes, she spotted a path leading up to a cave.

"I think he went in there," Rin shouted over the rising storm, pointing out the cave to Katara, who steered Appa to the ground. Katara then jumped off, leading Appa, with Rin on his saddle, into the cave.

"Aang?" Katara called into the darkness of the cave. From the saddle, Rin saw a dark outline of the boy in a fetal position, sitting in the middle of the cave.

"Oh Aang, I was so worried," said Katara, breathing out a sigh of relief and walking up behind him.

"I'm sorry for running away," Aang whispered.

"It's not your fault, Aang. The fisherman was way out of line," said Katara, trying to comfort the boy.

"Actually, he wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"It has something to do with your dream, doesn't it?" Katara leaned over in front of Aang and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Talk to me, Aang."

"It's kind of a long story."

Appa lowered his head to nuzzle Aang, receiving a small hug in return.

"I'm going to try to get a little fire going," said Katara, heading towards the cave entrance. Rin sat up, watching Katara go out into the rain to find firewood. After a few minutes, she came back soaking wet, with a small bundle of firewood in her arms.

"I'm pretty sure you can't build a fire with wet firewood," Rin said snarkily.

"Bring the wood over here," Aang said. Katara put the wood out in front of him and Aang blew a blast of air at the wood, blow-drying it almost instantly. The three sat there for a few seconds in silence.

"So I'm going to assume that you have no fire starters, and that the Avatar can't firebend, since you're just sitting around watching a cold pile of sticks," said Rin. Katara gave out a large sigh before looking up and nodding her head.

"Figures. Use these," Rin said, taking a pair of spark rocks out of her bag and throwing them down to Katara. The water tribe girl scraped the rocks together, creating a spark and lighting the bundle of wood. Soon, there was a small fire burning in the middle of the cave.

"So, Aang, tell us what happened on that day," said Katara, feeding a stick into the fire.

"I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar..."

* * *

"... next thing I know, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in the iceberg," said Aang, finishing his story.

"You ran away," Katara said, as if she was trying to accept the fact.

"And the Fire Nation attacked the temple. I wasn't there when my people needed me... when the world needed me!"

"Aang..." Katara reached out to try and comfort the boy, but he turned away.

"The fisherman was right. I did turn my back against the world."

"You're being too hard on yourself, even if you did run away. If you had stayed, you would have been killed with all of the other airbenders."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe I don't... but I feel like it was meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people hope."

"Couldn't he have given people hope a hundred years ago?" Rin asked, cutting into the conversation. "Honestly, if Aang here hadn't run away, this world might have been a lot better than it is now."

"You don't know that!" Katara shouted. "Besides, Aang was desperate to stay with Gyatso. Every child would want to stay with their parents, and Gyatso was like a father to Aang - even someone like you would know that feeling, the feeling of love and -"

"Actually, I don't."

"What?" asked Katara, calming down from her rant against Rin.

"I've never known that feeling," Rin said simply, as if she was saying that the sky was blue, or that fire was hot.

"You've never had someone you've cared about? No parents, no guardian?" Katara asked.

"Nope. Not even a childhood. Woke up one day in the middle of the forest a few years ago, and then I just survived from there, doing what I do."

"Figures," Katara said, getting up from the fire. "Someone like you didn't experience the innocence of being a child."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Rin asked. However, before she could get an answer, someone came running into the cave.

"Help! Oh please, help!"

As the figure came into the light of the fire, the group saw that it was the wife of the fisherman who had gone out with Sokka. Katara ran over to her, grabbing her by the wrist.

"It's okay. You're safe now," she said, trying to comfort the old lady.

"But my husband isn't! They should have been back by now, and the storm is becoming a typhoon!"

"Oh spirits... Sokka's out there!" said Katara.

"I'm going to find him," Aang declared, jumping onto Appa.

"I'm coming with you!" Katara said, following Aang onto the bison.

"I'm staying here!" shouted the old lady, crossing her arms and sitting down.

"Same," Rin mumbled, crawling down Appa's tail with one of the group's blankets. She was still too weak to stand, and the cold of the storm wasn't doing much to help.

"We'll be back soon, I promise. Appa, yip yip!"

The bison flew out of the cave, leaving Rin and the old lady alone. Rin lay down, covered herself with the blanket, and took a nap, waiting for them to return.

* * *

"We're back!" Aang called out into the cave, waking Rin from her nap. She opened her eyes and saw Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the old fisherman climbing down from Appa and walking into the cave. The old lady got up and embraced the fisherman.

"You owe this boy an apology," the old lady said, pointing down towards Aang.

"Eh, how about a free fish?" the fisherman said, holding up a fish he had taken from his now-destroyed boat.

"I don't eat meat," Aang said.

"Fish ain't meat!" the fisherman shouted, laughing.

"Uh, so do I still get paid?" Sokka asked, putting his hand out. The fisherman promptly placed the fish in Sokka's hand, earning a look of disgust. Meanwhile, Aang and Katara were talking on the other side of the cave.

"Katara, I think you're right. I should stop thinking about the past."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't know what would have happened if I had stayed, but I'm here now. I need to make the most of it."

"That's good, Aang. I don't think you'll have to worry about any more nightmares."

While the fisherman was thanking Aang for saving him, Rin noticed the rain stopping, revealing the sun poking through the thinning clouds. She took her blanket and crawled up Appa's tail and into the saddle, settling herself in the corner of the saddle.

"Hey, look! It stopped raining!" Sokka shouted, prompting everyone to go outside. After looking out over the sea for a few moments, Aang, Sokka, and Katara climbed back onto Appa, where Rin was waiting.

"So, are we heading out now?" Rin asked.

"Yup. We're going to go as far north as we can with the remaining daylight, then find somewhere to camp," Aang replied.

"Glad to know you're still hitchhiking with us," Katara growled, giving Rin a glare.

"Hey, you guys got me into this state, it's only right for you to care for me until I'm better," Rin said, as Appa took off.

"You should be fine enough to walk tomorrow. We'll drop you off somewhere," Katara said.

"Fine with me," Rin replied. The group fell into silence as they flew on towards their next destination.

* * *

**A/N: It's hard to do much with a backstory episode, but I did what I could so Rin could fit in naturally. Please leave a review, and have a good day.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Blue Spirit

**A/N: So in case you haven't figured it out yet:** _Italics are usually thoughts._

* * *

Chapter 3: The Blue Spirit

"Aang, I think we should land. Sokka doesn't look so good."

Looking back, Aang saw Sokka curled up on the floor of the saddle, breathing heavily. He let out a loud series of coughs, causing Rin and Katara to raise their arms to protect themselves from whatever disease Sokka had just caught.

"There are some ruins over there. Seems like a good place to land," Rin suggested. Aang started steering Appa down to the ruined buildings, landing in a large courtyard. The sun was starting to set over the mountains, casting a shadow over the group.

"Aang, go see if you can find any ginger root in this area. I can make it into tea to help Sokka feel better," Katara said. Aang nodded, flying off to scout the area while the others stayed with Appa. Rin stood up, feeling a lot better than she had in the morning. She felt fully recovered from her injuries - which was odd, seeing that she had fallen off a cliff only a day before.

"So, Rin, I assume you're going to leave now? Go on, nobody's stopping you," Katara said, trying to force Sokka into a sleeping bag.

"Are you kidding? It's going to be night soon, and the nearest village is hours away. I'd rather take my chances staying with you guys then go out into the woods alone, in the dark. A place like this is probably teeming with bandits and thieves," Rin replied, digging out a few supplies from her bag.

"So you'd fit right in, am I right?"

"Oh, shut it."

Rin grabbed an armful of wooden planks from the various destroyed structures around the courtyard and set them in a pile near Appa, cutting a few of the planks with her hatchet. She then took her spark rocks out of her bag, using them to create a fire and keep the group warm.

"Move the boy closer to the fire," Rin commanded, gesturing towards Katara.

"We have names, you know," Katara said as she rolled Sokka, who was now stuffed inside of a sleeping bag, into the heat of the flame.

"I'm bad with names. Usually don't have to remember any other than my own," Rin replied, climbing up onto Appa and searching through the group's supplies.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop that!" Katara shouted, climbing up behind Rin.

"Calm down, it's not like I'm always a thief," Rin said, climbing back down past Katara with the fish Sokka had gotten from the old man earlier today. She stuck the fish onto a stick and held it up against the fire, roasting it against the flames.

"That's Sokka's fish! We should be the ones eating it!" Katara said.

"I made the fire, and I'm doing the cooking. We'll split it evenly, fair?" Rin asked, turning the fish so it would cook evenly.

Katara let out a sigh and nodded, sitting down on the opposite side of the fire. Even inside of his sleeping bag, Sokka was shivering and chattering his teeth.

"You know what I love the most about Appa? His sense of humor," Sokka said nasally, with an odd look on his face.

"Sokka, what are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?" Katara asked.

"I'm no healer, but I think he's delirious. Whatever he has, it's getting worse," Rin explained. Just then, Aang flew back into the courtyard, carrying a small scroll with him.

"How's Sokka doing?" Aang asked, folding up his glider and touching down onto the ground.

"Not so well. He probably caught a cold from being out in the storm for so long," Katara replied, folding up a wet rag and pressing it against Sokka's forehead. His nose was starting to run, and his shivering was getting worse. Aang kneeled down and put the scroll on the ground, spreading it out to reveal a map.

"I couldn't find any ginger root to make the tea, but I did manage to find this map of the surrounding area. There's a herbalist on top of of a nearby mountain, so we can probably get a cure for Sokka there," Aang explained, pointing out the location to the group.

"Aang, Sokka's in no condition to travel. It will just take some rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow, anywa-" Katara tried to say, before breaking into a fit of coughs.

"Not you too!" Aang said, looking up from the map.

"Relax, it's just a little cough. I'll be fine," Katara reassured Aang, before she started coughing again, this time with much more force.

"That 'little cough' is what your brother had back on the bison. You should try and rest, before it gets any worse," Rin suggested. Katara replied, lying down next to Sokka.

"I'm going to visit the herbalist and see if I can get any medicine. Rin, can you watch Katara and Sokka for me?" Aang asked.

"Sure, but you owe me," Rin replied. Aang nodded in confirmation before rushing off down the mountain, leaving behind a large trail of dust.

_Well, I guess the Avatar owes me a favor now. That could be useful,_ Rin thought. She looked over at the water tribe siblings, who were curled up by the fire. Sokka was shivering despite how warm his sleeping bag seemed to be, while Katara was coughing up a storm.

"Now I've got to take care of you two..." Rin mumbled, changing the now-dry rag on Sokka's hot forehead.

* * *

"Water..." Sokka moaned weakly.

"Rin... take my waterskin and find a river. We need water," Katara said, holding up her waterskin.

"Well, I guess I can do that," Rin replied, taking the pouch from Katara's hand. She went over to the map Aang had found, looking for a river. She eventually found one in a nearby valley and set off, taking the waterskin, map, and her hatchet.

_At least there's a path down the valley,_ Rin thought, walking down the winding path to the valley floor. The forest around her wasn't too dense, and the light of the sun wasn't completely gone, so Rin got a dim view of the area surrounding the path. As she looked around, she caught a glimpse of something moving through the trees. Looking closer, Rin saw what seemed to be a group of archers jumping through the trees, quickly and effortlessly leaping from branch to branch. One of the men was carrying something over his shoulder - something with orange robes and blue tattoos.

"I'm sure those two will be able to handle having a dry throat for a while," Rin mumbled, running after the archers. She tried to keep up with them, but eventually, they disappeared out of her sight. Rin sighed, taking the map out of her bag and spreading it out against the forest floor. She sat down to read the map, trying to find out where Aang's captors were headed.

_They're going this way, so if they continue along this route they'll eventually reach... a high security Fire Nation fortress. Just my luck._ Rin closed the map and got back up. Following the archers, she started running towards the fortress, wondering how she could rescue Aang.

After several minutes of running, the forest suddenly disappeared, revealing a small clearing with the fortress sitting in the middle. Rin ducked into a bush, hiding away from any guards that may have spotted her. Looking back towards the fortress, she tried to find a way to break in.

_There's a watchtower on every corner, and the front gate is heavily guarded. I don't see any way to get through from here,_ Rin thought, before spotting a stream of water flowing out from the side of the fortress. She ran across the outskirts of the clearing, making sure to keep hidden in the brush, until she found what she was looking for - a sewage pipe. By now, the day had already turned to night, and the only light came from the watchtowers. Rin took off her cloak and left it in a bush, along with the map, taking only her hatchet in case she needed to defend herself. After making sure that none of the guards on the wall were looking in here direction, she quickly scampered to the wall, hiding in a shadow next to the sewage hole. Rin examined the pipe, finding a grate covering the entrance. Luckily, it was old and rusted, allowing Rin to knock it off the hole with a few quick swings from her hatchet. Rin looked into the hole, and a putrid smell wafted up into her nose. Dirty water was flowing out of the half-submerged hole in the wall and into a small stream, where it drained into the forest.

_This is the Avatar, Rin. He's the world's last hope, and besides, he owes you a favor. It'll be worth it._ Rin started wading into the pitch-black sewers of the fortress, the freezing cold water reaching up to her waist. The tunnel was just high enough so that, if she leaned down slightly, she could walk through the tunnels without hitting her head against the ceiling. Rin grimaced as she felt a small, slick object pass by her leg, slowly drifting towards the exit of the sewers.

_Well, this probably where all the poop goes. I shouldn't expect anything different._ Rin used her hatchet to scout in front of her, eventually hitting a sharp turn in the tunnel after a few minutes of wandering through the darkness. As she waded around the corner, she saw a dim, orange light shining from above, illuminating the tunnel ahead.

"Finally, a way out of this dump," Rin said to herself, wading up to the hole in the ceiling. With a grunt, she jumped up and hoisted herself up through the hole, coming out into a small latrine room. Rin crawled out onto the floor, soaked and filthy from the waist down, before getting up and looking out into the hallway. After making sure that no one was around, she started down the hallway, turning the corner and seeing a man tied to the ceiling by the wrists. By his attire, Rin presumed that he was a guard.

_Looks like someone got here before me,_ Rin thought, proceeding past the guard. As she went around the next corner, she bumped into someone, causing her to fall. Rin looked up and saw a man with a blue mask, clad entirely in a black body suit and wielding two curved swords. She got up, raising her hatchet to defend herself, but Aang ran up beside the man, prompting Rin to lower her weapon.

"Hey, Rin! Did you come to rescue me, too? Do you know this guy?" Aang asked, but the man in the mask signalled them to be quiet. He started creeping down the hallway towards the exit, but Rin stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"I know a good way we can get out of here," she whispered, as the man nodded in response. Rin lead the two back down the way she came, into the latrine room. She pointed down the hole, prompting a look of disgust from Aang's face.

"Are we seriously going down there?"

"It's the safest way out, and it's how I got in. Either you go through a hundred soldiers, or you go through a river of crap."

Rin climbed down the hole and splashed into the filthy water, followed by the masked man and Aang. Since she had already gone through the tunnel, the smell didn't bother her as much, but Aang had a look of disgust on his face from the putrid odor. The masked man didn't show any signs of being bothered, as he had already started wading down through the tunnel. As the three drudged on through the darkness, an alarm suddenly started to ring above them.

"Well, they probably found out that you're missing. We should hurry," Rin said. After a few more minutes of wading through the sewers, the three reached the exit, climbing out of the river of sewage and into the clearing outside of the fortress. The masked man signalled towards the forest, and they started running to the safety of the trees. However, as they got close to the forest, Rin heard an arrow rush by, followed by a pinging noise. The masked man fell to the ground, a blunt arrow laying beside him. The mask had been knocked loose, revealing a large scar around the man's left eye.

"Never thought I'd see you again," Rin mumbled, before turning to find a group of soldiers rushing at them from the side. She ran past the unconscious prince, dashing into the forest and picking up her stuff where she had left it. Looking back, Rin saw the soldiers approaching Aang, who was standing over the body of the prince.

"Hurry up!" Rin shouted to the boy, who whipped up a large dust cloud with his airbending. As the soldiers approached the cloud, Rin spotted Aang jumping into the forest while carrying the prince on his back. Rin met up with him, and they ran away into the fortress, leaving behind a group of confused soldiers. After they had gotten far enough from the fortress, they stopped to rest.

"To think he would rescue me..." Aang mumbled, putting the prince up against a tree.

"You know this guy?" Rin asked.

"Yes, he's been trying to capture me since I left the south pole."

"So, why don't you just leave him here? Or kill him, if he's really that much trouble? You've got a good opportunity right now."

"Rin, are you kidding? I can't kill him, even if he's my enemy! Besides, he just saved me!"

"So, what are you going to do with him then?"

"I'll watch over him until he wakes up. Hopefully, we can settle our conflict with each other."

"Whatever. Just be careful, he's still your enemy. I'm going back now, so don't stay too long."

Rin ran off back in the direction of the ruins where Katara and Sokka were resting, but she suddenly remembered why she had gone out in the first place. She dug the waterskin out of her bag and went over to the river, filling up the pouch and corking it tightly. After running for several minutes, Rin arrived back at the courtyard, where the two water tribe siblings were resting. The fire had already gone out, and both of the teenagers were resting in their sleeping bags.

"Here's your water," Rin said, holding the waterskin above Sokka's head. The boy opened his mouth, and Rin poured the water down his throat. She proceeded to do the same thing for Katara, then drank some of the water herself.

"What took you so long?" Katara asked, her voice weak due to her sickness.

"I'll explain in the morning. You should go to sleep for now," Rin said. Katara complied, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Rin looked back to check on Sokka and, after seeing that he was also asleep, lay down against Appa and closed her eyes. The day had taken a lot out of her, and she needed a rest.

* * *

Rin woke up to a faraway whooshing sound slowly coming closer to her location. Opening her eyes, she saw Aang fly in and land, carrying what seemed to be frozen frogs in his arm. He tapped Katara and Sokka on the head with his staff, waking them up before shoving a frog into each of their mouths.

"Suck on these, you'll feel better," Aang explained, going over to Appa's tail and lying down.

"Aang, how was your trip? Did you make any new friends?" Sokka asked, through a mouthful of frog.

"No, I don't think I did," Aang replied. Sokka went back to sucking on his frog as Rin walked up next to Aang.

"So, what happened with the guy?" Rin asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Aang said, rolling away from her. Rin went over to check on the siblings and saw that the frogs had thawed, and were now trying to escape. As the two realized what they had in their mouths, they spit out the frogs and started coughing, trying to get rid of the taste.

"So, what took the both of you so long to get back? All we needed was medicine and water," Katara asked.

"Well, I got captured by the Fire Nation and held prisoner, but Rin saved me," Aang replied. Rin noticed that he didn't mention the prince, but she let it slide, assuming that things hadn't gone well, and that the Avatar and the prince were still enemies. It would be better just to leave it at that, rather than let the two siblings worry.

"Huh. So she rescued you by herself? That's pretty impressive," Sokka said, looking over towards Rin.

"Hey, Rin, wanna join us?" Aang asked.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"We're heading to the North Pole so that Aang can learn waterbending. Seeing that you managed to rescue him from a fortress, maybe you can help us fight against the Fire Nation when the time comes," Sokka explained.

"Are you crazy? She'll just take all of our stuff and run off!" Katara shouted, clearly rejecting the idea of Rin traveling with the group. Meanwhile, Rin was debating whether she should accept Aang's offer.

_This is the Avatar I'll be traveling with... and besides, it's safer than traveling alone. Who knows, maybe I'll become famous, as one of the Avatar's companions. That'll get me something, at least._

"I'll do it," Rin said, earning a grin from Aang and a frown from Katara.

"Well, that's settled. Rin, could you hand me the map?" Sokka asked. Rin took the map out of her bag and handed it to Sokka, who spread it on the ground.

"Makapu village is over here. It's less than an hour away if we fly, and we can resupply there. We already ate the only food we had," Sokka explained, pointing out the village to everyone else.

"I think Appa's tired from flying around so much. It'll only take us a few hours to walk there, anyways, so I think that's what we should do," Aang suggested.

"Then let's go," Rin said. The four teenagers, along with their bison, walked out of the courtyard, which was now lit up by the morning sun. They left the ruins and started down the forest path, heading towards the next village.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed so far. Please leave a review, and don't hesitate to tell me if there's anything wrong with the story. I don't prewrite anything (in fact, I don't preplan half the things I write), so the update schedule may be slightly irregular, though I will try to update about once a week.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Fortuneteller

**A/N: Sorry for updating so late! Life happened, and stuff happened, and this chapter didn't happen. To make up, here's a longer chapter. Actually, now that Rin has joined the Gaang, I'll be aiming to make most chapters this long.**

**Note: small change in chapter 2. Rin woke up "a few years ago" as opposed to "about two years ago." Just a minor thing so continuity doesn't get messed up later.**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Fortuneteller

The group had stopped to take a lunch break by a small river, sitting around an empty fire pit on the riverbank. Katara was lecturing Rin on the "rules" of the group, while Aang messed around with some string. Sokka was sitting next to a fishing pole he had crafted, waiting for a potential lunch to come down the river.

"... and, despite what you might think, you can't just go around stealing everything you see!" Katara practically shouted.

"First of all, I steal to survive, not because I'm greedy. Secondly, why do you seem to hate me so much?" Rin asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you tried to invade my tent and steal all of my stuff!" Katara shouted, crossing her arms and turning away.

"Hey, at the time you were just a stranger with resources I could use. Now, you're an ally, at least for a little while. Besides, I was hungry, and I knew you guys had food," Rin said, trying to justify her actions, but Katara ignored her. Rin sighed and looked out towards the river, spotting a large, green fish jumping up and down.

"There's our lunch," Rin said, pointing out the fish to Sokka.

"That fish is taunting me!" Sokka declared as the fish jumped in and out of the river. He grabbed his fishing pole before running off to the water, flicking the rod forwards a few times before realizing that nothing was coming out.

"What happened to the fishing line?" Sokka asked, turning back towards the group. Katara started glaring at Rin, who shrugged.

"I have it here, Sokka. I didn't think you'd need it," Aang said, holding up the string, which was now braided with a flower in the middle.

"Ah, It's all tangled!" Sokka said.

"Not tangled, woven!" Aang replied, turning towards Katara. "I thought that since you lost your necklace, you could use a new one."

"Great to know that you're wasting our precious fishing line," Rin said, trying to snatch the necklace away and turn it back into proper fishing line.

"Don't be so stingy, Rin!" Katara said, taking the necklace before Rin could get to it.  
We can do without a little fishing line. And thank you Aang, it looks great."

"You've got to be kidding me... you need to be a little more serious, Avatar!" Rin shouted, turning to Aang to lecture him. "That fishing line would have gotten us at least a week's worth of dinner, and you just waste it on a useless necklace!"

"Don't talk to Aang like that! He's just trying to be nice!" Katara said, placing herself between Rin and Aang.

"Niceness won't fill up your stomach, but a fish will," Rin replied.

"Calm down, Rin," Aang said. "We can always get more fishing line at the next town."

"I know, but we're pretty much broke, and when I see you wasting the fishing line, it's just... I just can't stand it. How can you take on the responsibility of saving the world if you can't take on the responsibility of making sure this group gets dinner?" Rin asked, sitting down on a log.

"Well, if we're lucky, people sometimes give us stuff, since I'm the Avatar. Besides, we've been looking after ourselves for a while now. We should be fine," Aang said, pointing towards the river. Rin turned to see Sokka, who was standing in the middle of the water, holding the green fish in his arms. However, the fish immediately jumped out of his arms and smacked him in the face with its tail before falling back down into the river, leaving Sokka empty handed.

"See, now if we had the fishing line..." Rin mumbled. Suddenly, the group heard a roar from nearby. Aang jumped onto a tall rock and looked around, trying to spot the source of the sound.

"There's someone being attacked by a platypus bear!" he called, pointing downriver. As they ran, Rin saw a large, angry platypus bear swinging at a man, who was calmly dodging the heavy blows from the animal.

"Hello there! It's a nice day today, isn't it?" the man said calmly as the group came closer. Aang, Katara, and Sokka started shouting advice to him, while Rin tried to sneak up behind the creature, hatchet ready in her hand.

The tail should be pretty sensitive, Rin thought, preparing to attack the platypus bear from behind. As it took another swing at the man, she struck, sinking her hatchet into the platypus bear's tail. The creature roared with pain as Rin pulled the hatchet out, causing blood to drip from the end of the blade. However, when she tried to retreat back, the platypus bear smacked her with a powerful backhand blow, knocking her into a nearby tree.

"Rin!" Aang shouted, jumping in front of the platypus bear and pushing it back with a blast of air.

"I'm okay!" Rin shouted back. The platypus bear let out another roar, only to be out-roared by Appa, who had just arrived behind the creature. The platypus bear, startled and frightened by the larger creature that just appeared behind it, fled into the river and swam away. As Rin got up, Aang and Sokka ran up to her with looks of concern on their faces, while Katara attended to the man they had saved.

"Are you sure you're okay? You just got hit full-on by a platypus bear," Sokka asked.

"It might bruise later, but I'm fine. Just a little winded," Rin assured, dusting herself off.

"So you get hit with enough force to shred a tree, and you only get a few bruises? Are you sure you're not wearing any armor, because that's kinda odd," Katara said, walking over with the man. Rin looked past them and saw a large chunk taken out of a tree where the platypus bear was attacking the man.

"Look, I don't know why I'm not hurt, maybe it just didn't hit me as hard as it could have. It doesn't really matter," Rin replied. "Is the guy okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you. To be honest, you did not have to intervene. Everything was under control," the man said.

"Your were about to be mauled by a platypus bear! How is that under control?" Sokka asked.

"Aunt Wu predicted that I would have a safe journey," the man replied, grabbing Rin's attention.

"Aunt Wu? You mean Aunt Wu, the fortuneteller?" Rin asked, causing the man's face to light up.

"Ah, I see her reputation has spread from beyond the village. You should pay her a visit. It's nice to know your fortune," the man said.

"Wow, knowing your future... that's why you were so calm, since you knew that you wouldn't be hurt!" Katara exclaimed.

"But the fortuneteller was wrong!" Sokka argued. "If it wasn't for us, he would have been killed!"

"But I wasn't," the man replied with a grin on his face. "Well, I must be going now. Oh, and Aunt Wu told me to give this to any travelers I see."

The man walked off past the group, leaving Aang with a long, thin package. He started tearing through it, eager to find out what was inside.

"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes," Katara suggested.

"Come on, fortune telling is just crazy nonsense. There's no way someone could tell the future," Sokka said, just as Aang finished tearing through the package, leaving a small, extendable umbrella.

"Hey, it's an umbrella!" Aang said, just before a clap of thunder roared from the sky and gray clouds rolled overhead. Rain started to pour down, and everyone but Sokka huddled underneath the umbrella.

"I guess that proves it," Katara said.

"No it doesn't, those clouds have been there all day," Sokka argued. "And Rin, don't tell me you believe in it too!"

"I'd prefer that fortune telling wasn't real, but I choose to believe rather than get wet. Suck up your pride and get under the umbrella," Rin said. Sokka merely grumbled and walked beside them, drenched by the rain, as they headed to the village.

* * *

"So, how did you meet Aunt Wu?" Aang asked. They were almost to the village, and the rain had stopped, though the skies were still cloudy.

"Eh, I think I came through this village some time ago, though I don't remember much about it. We met, we talked, then I left, and that's about it," Rin answered.

"So, does she really tell the future? Or is she just a big scam?" Sokka asked.

"Well, she did tell me my future... though I'm not sure if she was right or not. I'd rather not talk about it," Rin said as the group approached the entrance to the town, walking under a large wooden gate. A few turkey ducks waddled beside them, quacking.

"Well, looks like we found our lunch," Rin said, drawing her hatchet out of her bag. However, before she could leap onto the birds, Aang shooed them away.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" Rin asked. "I was about to get us a meal! What's with you and preventing us from getting food?"

"First of all, I don't eat meat. Secondly, that creature has a life, just like all of us. I can't let you kill it just so you could get a meal. Life, in all forms, is sacred," Aang explained.

"I can't believe you, Avatar!" Rin shouted, descending into a rant against Aang. "That's how life works! Are you going to refuse to kill every creature, no matter what? Even if you're starving, and there's a fresh, plump turkey duck in front of you? Even when you're in a fight to the death, and the only way out is to kill or be killed? That naive philosophy is going to come back to bite you one day, you know!"

"Woah, Rin! Calm down! Aang's just a kid, you're being too harsh on him," Sokka said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Well, this kid is the Avatar! He's gotta beat the Fire Nation, and frankly, I don't see how he can do that with this sort of mindset!" Rin shouted, pointing down towards Aang as he drew backwards.

"I knew bringing you into the group was a bad idea," Katara mumbled, just loud enough so Rin could hear her.

"Hey, I'm teaching this kid a valuable lesson here!" Rin said, walking up to confront Katara before being pulled back by Sokka.

"Rin, you need to calm down. Even if you're right, shouting and fighting won't get us anywhere," Sokka said. Rin took a deep breath, sighed, and nodded, continuing on into the village. The rest of the group followed, with everyone keeping their distance from Rin except for Sokka, who walked up beside Rin.

"I think your rant caused a bit of tension in the group. You should probably apologize to them," Sokka suggested.

"I'll apologize when they fix themselves up," Rin growled, turning away from Sokka to cut off any further conversation. Eventually, they reached the building which Rin recognized as Aunt Wu's. The group gathered at the door, where they were greeted by a strange man.

"Aunt Wu is expecting you," he said, opening the door for the group. They entered into a small waiting room where they were greeted by a small girl in a pink kimono.

"Hello! My name is Meng, and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant," she said, before her gaze landed on Aang. She fixed her eyes on Aang for a few moments, then motioned the group to sit down on a row of large pillows off to the side.

"So, would you like to have some tea, or maybe some bean curd puffs?" She asked, stooping down in front of Aang.

"I'll have a bean curd puff," Sokka said, but it was obvious that Meng didn't hear him, as she was looking at Aang intently.

"So, what's your name?" She asked.

"Aang," he replied, looking around in disinterest.

"Oh, that rhymes with Meng!" She said. By then, Rin had tuned out her high-pitched voice. As Meng finished talking with Aang, she went to a back room to fetch food for the group. She came back with a tray with steaming cups of tea and a large bowl of curd puffs, to Sokka's delight. As Sokka started to eat, an old lady in yellow robes came out to greet them.

"Hello, I'm Aunt Wu! So, who's ready to see their future?" She asked, scanning over the group. When her eyes fell onto Rin, they widened.

"I remember you... we must talk afterwards. Now, who's first? Don't be shy," Aunt Wu said.

"I'll go," Katara replied, standing up and following Aunt Wu into her room. The rest of the group waited behind, Sokka munching on curd puffs as Aang fidgeted in his seat, looking nervously at Rin, who was sitting beside him.

"Uh, I think I need to go to the bathroom," Aang stated, running off into one of the hallways next to Aunt Wu's room.

"Look, now you've scared him off," Sokka said. "I think he's afraid of you."

"It's not my fault. I just told him what I thought about him," Rin replied.

"Maybe, but you didn't have to do it so harshly," Sokka said, scraping the bottom of the bowl for more curd puffs. Rin noticed that Sokka hadn't touched the tea yet, as the cups were still full.

"Pass me some tea, will you?" She asked. Sokka handed her a cup and, after blowing the top of the cup to cool the liquid down, started slowly sipping the tea.

"I didn't see you as the type to drink tea," Sokka said.

"It helps me calm myself down. I'll admit, I was pretty bad out there, though I still stand by my point," Rin replied as Aang strolled back into the waiting room with a wide smile on his face.

"Someone had a pleasant trip to the bathroom," Sokka commented upon seeing Aang's grin.

"Yeah, well, when I was in there-" Aang said, trying to explain himself, before being cut off by a disgusted look from Sokka.

"Just sit down," Rin said, as Katara came out with Aunt Wu.

"So, who's next?" The old lady asked.

"Let's get this over with," Sokka grumbled, getting up before being stopped by Aunt Wu.

"Your future is full of struggle and anguish; mostly self-inflicted," she said.

"B-but you didn't read my palms or anything like that!" Sokka argued.

"I didn't need to. It's written all over your face. Now come, boy," Wu replied, taking Aang into the other room. Katara glared at Rin for a moment before passing by her, sitting next to Sokka. The room was quiet, but Rin felt tension between herself and Katara.

_I don't think we're ever going to get along if she continues like this,_ Rin thought before noticing a puff of smoke drift out of the doorway Aang and Aunt Wu had gone through.

"I'm going to go check on them," Rin said, putting down her tea and standing up.

"Wait, why?" Katara asked.

"Nothing much, I just saw a bit of smoke and I wanna see if they're okay," Rin explained, heading over to the door. Looking into the room, she saw Aunt Wu and Rin sitting around a fire, with bone fragments scattered all around the floor. The old lady seemed to be reading one of the fragments.

"... and you will be with the one you love," Aunt Wu finished saying, putting down the bone fragment.

"Really? That's great!" Aang shouted gleefully, before turning to the exit and noticing Rin.

"Is everything okay in here?" Rin asked.

"Yup, why do you ask?" Aang replied.

"I just saw some smoke, and I came to see if you were fine," Rin explained.

"That was just part of the fortune telling. Speaking of that, it's your turn now," Aang said, before rushing past Rin. After he had gone back to the others, Rin closed the door behind her and sat down with Aunt Wu.

"It's been a long time," Aunt Wu said, scanning Rin with her eyes.

"It has. So, what happened with the Avatar's fortune?" Rin asked.

"You would not believe it. The bone cracked and exploded into a hundred pieces..." Aunt Wu explained.

"Wow. That kid's going somewhere, huh?" Rin said, digging through her bag.

"He is... but enough small chat. I'm surprised that you're still alive," Aunt Wu said.

"It seems like your prediction was wrong," Rin replied with a smirk.

"Maybe so. It would be the only time the bones have ever lied to me. So, do you still have it?" Aunt Wu asked.

"Here it is," Rin said, pulling a scorched bone out of her bag.

* * *

**96 AG, Autumn (3 years before the present day)**

_Rin climbed through the window frame and fell inside, grunting as she hit the hardwood floor. A loud growling noise came from inside of her, once again reminding Rin that her stomach was painfully empty. The last meal she had eaten was a loaf of bread, donated by a sympathetic man who had seen her sitting on the side of the road. That was two days ago. If she didn't eat soon, she would starve._

_Using the light from the moon outside, Rin searched around the room, looking for food. After finding nothing, she slipped out into the hallway, slowly making her way through the building. Dim oil lamps were placed along the walls, giving off enough light for Rin to make sure that there was no one else in the hallway. As she passed by one of the rooms, a glint out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Rin turned and saw a half finished bowl of bean curd puffs turned on its side, with most of the food scattered on the floor. However, Rin didn't care about the state of the food - it was food, and she wanted it._

_Rin scrambled over to the bowl, squatting down and shoveling the bean curd puffs into her mouth. They were stale, and she could taste dust that had accumulated on the puffs, but she didn't care. Rin rejoiced as her stomach filled up, relieving her of the constant pain in her abdomen as she continued to scarf down the bean curd puffs._

_"I had a feeling I would get a visitor tonight... but I didn't think it would be like this."_

_Rin froze as she heard the voice behind her, dropping the curd puff in her hand. Slowly turning around, she saw an old lady standing over her, carrying a lantern in her hand. Rin scurried backed away from the woman's gaze, frantically looking around for an escape route._

_"You may continue eating, if you want," the woman said, sighing._

_"Really?" Rin asked, eyes widening in surprise._

_"Yes. Go ahead," the woman replied. Rin's eyes lightened up, and she crawled back over to the bean curd puffs to continue eating. The old lady sat down a few feet away, watching Rin as she ate._

_"Thank you for your kindness," Rin said as she finished eating, sitting down in front of the old lady._

_"You're welcome, child. You must have been starving, judging by the way you ate. How did you get like this?" the woman asked._

_"To be honest, I'm not sure," Rin replied, recalling the past few days in her head. "I've been wandering around, trying to survive but... it's just so hard. I've been starving for the past week."_

_"Life is like that," the woman said, nodding her head. "Where is your family? Shouldn't they be with you?"_

_"I don't have a family. Well at least, I don't think I do. I don't remember much of anything right now, and that's why I've been wandering around. I have no idea where I came from, or what my life was like before. All I remember was waking up sometime during the last moon..." Rin explained._

_"I see. While I cannot help you find your past, I may be able to help you look towards the future. What is your name?" the woman asked._

_"It's Rin," Rin replied. The name was actually a fairly common name that she heard during her travels, so Rin decided to take it as her own, as she didn't know what her actual name was. It was one of the many mysteries of whatever forgotten past she may have had._

_"Hello, Rin," the lady said, standing up and holding her hand out towards the girl. "I'm Aunt Wu, and I'm the fortune teller for this village. I had a feeling that someone would arrive tonight who needed my assistance. Come with me and let us look towards your future."_

_Rin took Aunt Wu's hand, and the older lady led her into a larger room. A fire was lit in the middle of the room, accompanied by a plate stacked high with bones._

_"The bones are my most reliable method of fortune telling," Aunt Wu explained. "Throw one into the fire, and through the cracks, the spirits will tell me your destiny."_

_As the two kneeled down by the fire, Rin took a bone from the middle of the pile and threw it into the fire. Despite the intense heat, the bone refused to crack as it sat in the flames. Aunt Wu gasped as she observed the bone._

_"Is there something wrong?" Rin asked._

_"Yes... this is odd. The bone always cracks..." Aunt Wu muttered, leaning in closer to study the bone. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as the fire raged on, with the bone still completely intact._

_"The spirits have never told me this before," Aunt Wu muttered as she put out the fire using a pail of water, leaving the two in the dim glow of a lantern._

_"What is it? Did you see my future?" Rin asked, anxious for an answer._

_"I think I did... or perhaps your lack of a future," Aunt Wu said. Rin tilted her head to the side, confused about what the old lady meant._

_"What do you mean?" Rin asked._

_"Normally, when someone throws a bone into the fire, a spirit creates cracks to show the destiny of the person, or their paths towards the future. But in your case, there were no cracks," Aunt Wu explained._

_"So, if I have no cracks in the bone, what does that mean?" Rin asked skeptically._

_"In the best scenario, this would most likely be a fluke. However, if worst comes to worst... you will die soon. The spirits may not be showing you your path to the future because, well, you have no future," Aunt Wu explained. Rin took a second to register this into her mind._

_"That's troubling... but to tell you the truth, I don't think I'll die just because some spirit thinks that I have no destiny. Thank you for feeding me and showing me this," Rin said, bowing towards Aunt Wu before getting up and heading to the exit._

_"Wait!" Aunt Wu called, causing Rin to stop and turn around. The old lady went over to the fire and plucked out the bone, which was covered in scorch marks, taking it over to Rin._

_"If you do live, keep this. If you ever come back, we will see if your destiny has changed," Aunt Wu said, handing Rin the scorched bone. The girl simply smiled at the older woman before going out the door and walking back into the night._

* * *

"So you did keep it after all this time," Aunt Wu commented, rubbing her chin.

"Well, I just stuck it into the bottom of my bag and it's been there ever since," Rin explained. "What animal did you get this from, anyways? You seem to have a lot of bones, so you must be getting them from somewhere."

"It's mostly just the leftover bones from after the villagers eat their livestock. No one else has any use for them, so I take them for my fortune telling," Aunt Wu explained. "Now go on and throw your bone into the fire. Let's see if your destiny has changed."

Rin threw the scorched bone back into the fire where she had thrown it three years ago. The two leaned closer to see if there were any cracks forming in the bone, but once again, it lay perfectly still, its surface remaining whole and unsplit.

"So it wasn't a fluke," Aunt Wu muttered. "But if you're alive now..."

"Maybe it's just this specific bone that's the problem?" Rin suggested, reaching out towards the plate of bones before being stopped by Aunt Wu.

"No. The bone is merely a blank template for the spirits to show your fortune. I can't think of any explanation though..." Aunt Wu replied.

Rin sighed, then got up and started walking over to the exit. "Who knows, maybe the spirits just hate me or something," Rin joked. "Well, I don't think I'll be able to get anything else here, so I'll be going now. Can't keep the group waiting forever."

"It's not wise to take the spirits lightly," Aunt Wu called after her as Rin walked out the door and back into the waiting room, which was now barren.

Great, just go and leave without me, Rin thought, grumbling and heading outside. The rest of the group were walking further down the street, arguing about something that Rin couldn't hear. Out of the blue, Sokka kicked a small rock into the air, which bounced off of a hanging sign and hit him right back in the head, knocking the boy down. Rin covered her mouth, stifling a giggle after witnessing Sokka's misfortune.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Sokka shouted from the ground as Rin joined in with the rest of the group.

"So, are we just going to stand around here all day?" Rin asked. "Where are we going?"

"Well, I thought we could go get lunch somewhere," Aang suggested.

"You mean that lunch I could have caught if you hadn't gotten in the way?" Rin reminded Aang, who cringed away from her.

"Hey, it's not Aang's fault!" Katara shouted. "He just wanted to protect a life that was in danger!"

"I don't think you understand how nature works," Rin argued. "In the real world, everyone fights to survive, and lives disappear every day. That turtle duck that the Avatar protected is probably going to be eaten by some other animal anyways, so what's the point of keeping it alive?"

"Hey, let's not talk about this right now," Sokka interrupted. "We should just find a place to eat."

"Fine," Rin grumbled, as the group started walking down the street again.

* * *

The group was sitting on the side of the street, sharing a loaf of bread they managed to buy with a couple of coins Rin found at the bottom of her bag. Aang and Katara once again distanced themselves away from Rin, who was eating with Sokka.

"I don't think that kid is cut out to be the Avatar," Rin said, catching Sokka's attention.

"What? Why not?" Sokka asked, stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth.

"Well, he hasn't really been too impressive. He accidentally knocks me off of a cliff, and when I wake up, he's naive enough to trust me to not steal his stuff," Rin explained. "Don't take it the wrong way though. I'm a part of the group now, so I probably won't take any of your stuff."

"We don't really have anything to take, anyways," Sokka replied.

"True, though your boomerang and the Avatar's staff are tempting. Anyways, in the same day, you and your sister get sick and the Avatar gets captured. If I hadn't been there, it would have been over for your little group. And now, he's naive enough to prevent us from hunting just so a few animals can live for a couple more days. I can't see why you aren't mad at him, seeing that all you eat at the south pole is meat," Rin explained.

"Well, Rin," Sokka started, before sighing. "I can't really deny what you said, but Katara and I have traveled with Aang for a decent amount of time, and I can say that if he needs to take responsibility, he will. Believe me, he's done it before."

"I'll have to see it myself," Rin said, finishing up her meager lunch. She noticed a crowd of townsfolk gathered in the plaza in front of Aunt Wu's house and stood up, walking over towards the crowd.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sokka asked.

"To find out what everyone's doing over there," Rin answered. Sokka got up and joined her, with Katara and Aang following close behind. As they got closer, Rin saw that everyone was looking up at the sky, as if waiting for something.

"What's up with the sky?" Katara asked one of the villagers.

"We're waiting for Aunt Wu to come out and read the clouds," the villager replied. "She will predict the fate of the whole village."

"The cloud reading will tell us if Mt. Makapu will stay dormant for another year, or if it will erupt," another villager explained.

"We used to have a tradition of sending someone to the top of the mountain every year to check the volcano," the first villager said. "But ever since Aunt Wu moved in 20 years ago, we've had a tradition of not doing that."

"I can't believe you would trust your lives with that crazy old woman and her superstitions!" Sokka shouted, before being shushed by his sister.

"She's coming!" Katara warned as Aunt Wu came up behind the crowd. The townsfolk cheered, opening a path through the middle of the crowd. Aunt Wu walked through the middle of the crowd and up to an elevated shrine. She took out a small handbook and looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath.

"Bending arrow cloud..." Aunt Wu muttered, looking back down at the handbook. "Good crops this year. A great harvest."

The townsfolk cheered, but were silenced as Aunt Wu looked back up at the sky. "Half moon cloud... a great year for twins," she said.

"How long is this going to take?" Sokka asked one of the townsfolk.

"Be quiet," the man whispered, hushing the boy. "The most important reading is about to come."

"A cumulus cloud with a twisty lump coming off the end..." Aunt Wu mumbled, as the crowd became completely silent in anticipation of her next reading. Rin swore that if she breathed, everyone in the village would be able to hear it. The only sound was the breeze blowing over the plaza.

"The village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!" Aunt Wu finally proclaimed. The crowd cheered, confident in the fortune teller's readings.

"I can't believe these guys are trusting their village to this old lady," Sokka muttered.

"I agree," Rin replied. "I mean, I appreciated her readings back when we visited her, but leaving the fate village to the clouds just seems stupid."

"I guess we're the only ones who think that," Sokka said, looking over the rest of the village. Rin noticed Aang trying to talk to Katara, but it seemed that neither of the girls could hear him over the cheering crowd, as Katara ignored him and ran off towards Aunt Wu's house.

"So, what now?" Rin asked, before seeing Sokka caught up in an argument with a man who was wearing an ugly pair of red shoes. After a few seconds of arguing, the man walked off with a happy smile, while Sokka was screaming with frustration.

"I swear, there's got to be someone in this town with a lick of sense!" Sokka shouted, as he and Rin started walking down the street.

* * *

"I don't care what she told you, you have to take a bath sometime!"

Sokka groaned as the filthy old man simply gave him a grin and walked off. Rin gave a small chuckle at Sokka's futile efforts to bring reason to the village, though it did hurt her inside to see these people living so illogically. As Sokka sat on the ground, defeated, Rin looked up towards Mt. Makapu.

"You know, I don't think it's safe for this village to rely just on cloud readings. I'm going to go up and see the volcano for myself," Rin decided, heading towards the edge of the village.

"Well, I guess if it gives me an opportunity to prove these people wrong, I'm all for it," Sokka said, standing up and following Rin. As they followed the path out of the village and up the mountain, the forest quickly turned into rocky, mountainous terrain. Rin and Sokka started climbing up the steep slope of the volcano, scaling boulder after boulder and slowly making their way up to the top.

"Hey, is that Aang?" Sokka asked, prompting Rin to turn around and look down the mountain. Aang was quickly making his way up, using his airbending to jump from boulder to boulder.

"Oh, hey guys!" Aang called to the Rin and Sokka as he land next to them.

"What are you doing up here?" Sokka asked.

"I'm trying to find a panda lily," Aang explained. "I saw one in action and boy, does it work."

"What's he talking about?" Sokka asked Rin as Aang jumped further up the mountain.

"Well, I overheard some girl back in the village saying that she'll receive a panda lily from her lover, so it's probably some sort of flower that they use to confess love. It seems that the Avatar has his eyes on someone," Rin suggested.

"Eh, he's a kid. I'm sure he'll get over it," Sokka replied. As they neared the top, Rin saw Aang at the rim of the volcano, sniffing a black and white flower. Suddenly, he looked out over the rim and froze.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rin asked, climbing up behind Aang. As she got to the top, she saw what Aang had caused Aang to freeze. Lava was steadily filling the crater within the volcano, and seemed like it was about to erupt.

"Oh no!" Aang gasped, accidentally dropping the panda lily into the lava.

"Well, that proves it," Rin muttered. "Aunt Wu was wrong, and the townsfolk are stupid."

"The village is in danger! We've got to get down there and warn them!" Sokka shouted.

"There's no time to walk!" Aang replied, grabbing onto Rin and Sokka. "Sokka, get on my back. Rin, grab onto my legs. We're flying to the village!"

Rin and Sokka obeyed Aang's instructions, grabbing onto him and holding on tight as he unfolded his glider and jumped off the mountain. After a short and terrifying flight, they landed in front of Aunt Wu's house, where Katara was waiting.

"Can you believe she won't let me in after all the business I gave her?" Katara complained, turning towards the group.

"She doesn't even charge," Aang pointed out.

"I know, but still..." Katara muttered.

"It doesn't matter now. What's important is that the village is in danger. Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano," Sokka explained.

"Look Sokka, I know you don't believe in Aunt Wu's fortunes. It's going to take a lot to convince me-"

**BOOOOOOOOOM**

In the middle of Katara's sentence the mountain suddenly exploded, spewing ash into the air. A large cloud of billowing smoke started rising from the top of the mountain.

"Did that convince you?" Rin asked.

"Come on! We've got to tell the townspeople about this!" Aang shouted. The group ran off into the plaza, where people were milling around, unfazed by the explosion that happened just a few moments ago.

"Everyone! Aunt Wu was wrong! The volcano is going to erupt any minute now!" Sokka shouted at the gathering crowd. Despite his desperate warnings, Rin saw looks of amusement and relaxation on people's faces.

"Yeah, we know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, Mr. Science and Reason lover," one of the townsfolk called out. Frustrated, Katara went out in front of the crowd.

"I want to believe in Aunt Wu as much as you do, but my friends saw the lava with their own eyes. You have to believe us," she said.

"Well, I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears," someone shouted. Aang shouted in frustration and jumped to one of the rooftops.

"Listen to us! You're all in danger, and you have to evacuate! You can't just rely on Aunt Wu's prediction! You need to take fate into your own hands!" Aang shouted, standing above the crowd, which was still unconvinced.

"Can your fortune telling explain that?" Sokka asked, pointing towards the smoke above the mountain.

"Can your science explains why it rains?" one of the townspeople asked back, causing Rin to facepalm. The crowd started to disperse, uninterested in what the group had to say. Aang jumped down from the roof and joined up with the others as they discussed what to do.

"I swear, I'm getting stupider just by being around these people," Rin muttered.

"It doesn't look like they'll listen to reason," Katara said.

"But they will listen to Aunt Wu!" Aang replied, his face lit up.

"That's the problem we're having right now," Sokka said.

"It's about to become the solution. We'll take fate into our own hands. First, I'll need to borrow Aunt Wu's cloud reading book," Aang explained. Gradually, everyone in the group turned their heads towards Rin.

"Figures that you would have me do this," Rin sighed as the group headed over to Aunt Wu's house. Once they got their, Rin started giving orders.

"You and you," Rin said, pointing towards the water tribe siblings. "Take guard. Make sure nobody comes in. Avatar, give me a boost so I can get to the roof."

"It would be better if you called us by our actual names," Katara said.

"Again, bad with names. I'll learn them in a few days. Probably," Rin replied. Aang used a blast of air to propel Rin to the roof, where she landed and looked back down.

"Come on up," Rin told Aang, who launched himself to the roof with his own blast of air. Together they climbed up to a hole in the roof, directly above the fire pit where people would throw their bones. Smoke was still rising up from the chimney, but it wasn't too much.

"Grab onto me and lower us down gently," Rin ordered. Aang complied, holding Rin by her arms and slowly lowering the two to the floor. After a quick look around to make sure that nobody was there, Rin and Katara started looking for the cloud book, digging through drawers and pots.

_It's probably here somewhere,_ Rin thought, going through a bunch of scolls before turning up empty. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching the room.

"Hide!" Rin whispered, ducking behind a large pot in the corner of the room. However, it seemed that Aang didn't hear him, as he continued looking through a drawer. Meng opened the door and, upon seen Aang, walked up behind him.

You idiot, Rin thought, watching Aang get caught by the pink-clothed girl. However, instead of being kicked out, Aang simply talked with the girl. Rin wasn't close enough to hear them, but she realized that Aang wouldn't be forced to leave. After the girl left, Rin popped out from behind the pot.

"You're lucky, you know that? When I get caught, it usually means either escaping or getting handed over to the local police," Rin said.

"Well, I guess people are nicer when it's the Avatar taking their stuff. Look what I got!" Aang replied, holding up Aunt Wu's cloud book.

"Great. Let's head back outside," Rin ordered, as Aang pulled her up and out of the house.

* * *

Rin watched as the clouds moved, seemingly with a mind of their own. Slowly, a shape started forming, growing more detailed by the second.

I guess it's time, Rin thought, knocking on Aunt Wu's door. The old lady opened up, a tired look on her face.

"What is it?" she asked as Rin put on a look of mock distress.

"The clouds! They're forming something!" Rin shouted, trying to sound worried.

"They are? I must get my cloud book!" Aunt Wu replied, trying to head back in. However, Rin grabbed onto her arm and pulled her into the plaza.

"There's no time! Look, look!" Rin said, pointing up towards the clouds. By now, the rest of the group had finished bending the clouds, forming a giant skull in the sky.

"Oh my!" Aunt Wu cried, catching the attention of the townspeople. "Volcanic Doom!"

"If we act fast, we can still save the village!" Aang shouted as he flew down with the rest of the group. "Sokka has a plan!"

"Lava will flow down here to this spot," Sokka explained to the growing crowd of townspeople. "If we build a trench that's deep enough, we can divert the lava around the village and into the river. Earthbenders go with Aang, and everyone else who can dig should grab a shovel."

As the townspeople started mobilizing, Rin grabbed a shovel and headed over to the dig site. Soon, the townspeople managed to dig a fairly deep trench around the village just as the volcano exploded once more. Lava was starting to flow down the mountain.

"Everyone, you need to evacuate! We'll call you when it's safe!" Aang shouted, causing the townspeople to flee across the river. The group gathered in front of the village gates, where the lava would flow down and into the trench.

"Why are we standing directly in front of the lava flow?" Rin asked.

"I'm confident that the ditch will be enough to stop the lava. Even if it doesn't, we still have the Avatar," Sokka explained.

"Right, because he's so reliable," Rin said, adding a bit of sarcasm with her voice. The group fell into silence as the lava flowed down the mountain, destroying trees, structures, and everything else in it's path. Finally, it reached the ditch, which immediately started filling up.

"It's too much! We're going to overflow!" Katara shouted, just as another explosion rocked the mountain. Looking up, Rin saw a burst of rocks lava shoot up from the top of the volcano. One of the rocks landed in the lava near the village, causing a wave to surge towards the group.

_That's it, I'm outta here_, Rin thought as she started running back through the village, followed by Katara and Sokka. However, as she realized that Aang wasn't with them, Rin looked back and saw him fighting the lava with bursts of air, trying to keep the fiery liquid at bay.

"Avatar, If you want to live, you need to retreat!" Rin shouted, but Aang didn't heed her words. Instead, he stood his ground, blowing an intense gust of wind just as the wave of hot lava surged over the ditch. The two forces collided, and the lava cooled instantly, forming a tall wall of volcanic rock that extended to both sides of the village.

"Wow," Rin whispered. This would be one of the first times she had been awestruck by anything.

"That kid is one powerful bender," Sokka commented, looking up at Aang.

"What?" Katara asked, getting a confused look from Sokka.

"Nothing, I just said that Aang's a powerful bender," Sokka replied as a look of realization came over Katara's face.

"I suppose he is," Katara muttered, looking up at Aang. The three stood there, looking up at the Avatar as gray ash stopped floating down from the volcano. The eruption was over.

* * *

"I kind of borrowed your cloud book," Aang said sheepishly as Aunt Wu took the book back.

"So you messed with the clouds, eh?" Aunt Wu snapped, before reverting to a satisfied grin. "Very clever."

"No offense, but I hope this taught a valuable to all of you. You can't just rely on fortune telling all the time," Sokka said to the townspeople.

"But Aunt Wu said that the village would survive, and it did," one of the townsfolk commented. Sokka gritted his teeth and approached the man, but Rin stepped in front of him.

"Let me handle this," she whispered to Sokka before turning to the man. "You only survived because you took matters into your own hands. If we weren't here, you wouldn't have been prepared for the eruption, and you would be under ten feet of rock right now. Remember that."

As the man contemplated what Rin had just told him, Aang finished up talking with Aunt Wu. The group climbed onto Appa and waved goodbye to the village before setting off into the sky.

"Aang, I think I have to apologize," Rin said as they leveled out.

"Hm? For what?" Aang asked.

"For not thinking you were right to be the Avatar," Rin explained. "I thought you were irresponsible and naive. You got captured by the Fire Nation, you refused to kill animals, and you made useless trinkets with precious resources. Now don't get me wrong: I still don't think you're right in those two aspects. But after seeing you help the village with the volcano, along with that impressive display of bending, I felt like you would be able to handle being the Avatar. So for doubting you, I apologize."

"Don't worry about it," Aang replied. "You were just trying to do what was best for the group, though you were pretty harsh in doing it."

"Glad you managed to do that," Sokka said. "So where are we going now?"

"To the north pole!" Aang shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's a long way off..." Rin mumbled, but regardless, they flew north, awaiting the adventures to come.

* * *

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